How to use PR to attract talent to your brand

Hiring has never been more complex. Even with the latest economic downturn, skilled candidates have more options available to them, higher expectations than ever before and access to a huge amount of information. Consequently, for employers, simply having a job to offer is no longer enough.

Instead, candidates will dig far deeper than their predecessors in search of information as part of more careful, strategic decision-making process. In this context, reputation is everything, and with many industries being impacted by shortages and shrinking talent pools, being able to separate yourself from competitors in the appropriate ways is critical. This is where using PR to attract talent can be hugely effective. Here’s how.

Using PR to improve reputations

Public relations has historically been more closely linked to product launches, shareholder announcements or crisis management, and has subsequently been low down the list of organisational priorities when hiring. However, the market has evolved and while it is still one of the more underused elements in the talent acquisition toolkit, particularly when it comes to employer branding and candidate attraction, it is growing in adoption.

The more traditional approach to building an employer brand relies heavily on ‘owned’ content and channels. A careers page, a LinkedIn profile, a video about company culture, maybe a few day-in-the-life posts or employee testimonials. All of these are valuable, but they only reach people already looking at your company. They also speak with your voice. And, at a simplistic level, it’s far more powerful when someone else says how great you are, than it is when you say it.

The impact of this third-party endorsement is especially significant when engaging passive candidates. These are the individuals who may not be browsing job boards or scrolling through LinkedIn with the expressed intent to apply, but who are open to opportunities that feel compelling and right for them. When they repeatedly see your organisation mentioned in a positive light, whether in industry news, employee profiles or thought leadership features, you become familiar to them. And familiarity breeds trust.

Discerning candidates

It's also useful to consider what modern candidates actually care about and want from a role, particularly younger generations who are taking up a larger portion of the market. Salary is key, but other factors including culture purpose, flexibility, values and reputation now hold almost as much weight in a candidate’s decision-making process. People want to feel connected to a business before they ever walk through the door, and want to know what it stands for, what it is like to work there, and whether its public face matches the internal reality.

PR provides another method of achieving this, and contributes to the process of building trust. A feature in a respected trade publication, an interview with your HR Director in a podcast, a positive profile in a business magazine, or inclusion in a ‘Best Companies to Work For’ list, for example, all add layers of credibility that a careers page simply cannot replicate.

Leveraging ‘real’ PR to attract talent to your brand

It’s also worth noting that trust cannot be built through branding alone. As mentioned, the modern candidate is increasingly discerning and wary of overly polished, corporate messaging. They prefer reality and substance and will research all avenues to find it from reviews, social media, and referrals. PR supports all of these elements by placing real, human stories in the places where people are paying attention. It gives your message depth and breadth, expanding the conversation beyond HR-controlled narratives.

For example, a construction firm that’s trying to attract more female engineers might work with a PR agency to place stories about its inclusive hiring practices in both trade media and national press, or to produce a long-form article that showcases the journey of a female apprentice who rose through the ranks to take on a senior leadership role. Alternatively, the Head of Engineering could appear on a panel discussing gender diversity in STEM. Over time, these moments create a strong and credible external profile that supports both awareness and converts candidates.

Talent attraction in the AI era

This is particularly valuable in the era of AI, where employer trust will be eroded even further. While a ‘day in the life’ video on a career platform has its merits, it’s increasingly easy to create fake content that will fool almost everyone, so third party accreditation – like that achieved through PR – will become increasingly sought after.

Another important consideration is the lifespan of PR content. A job advert might only run for two weeks, but an article in a credible online news site or other publication can continue to appear in search results for months, even years. If a candidate searches your company and finds not just your website, but also pages of coverage reinforcing your values, workplace culture and overall credibility, that consistency and breadth of content can tip the balance in your favour.

Ultimately, the goal for modern businesses is not just to fill roles, but to become an employer of choice. PR helps you achieve this by creating a narrative that is more than just a list of benefits or a catchy strapline. It builds a reputation grounded in reality.

For inhouse talent acquisition teams navigating a challenging and competitive hiring market, PR should not be a bolt on to the wider hiring strategy, but a strategic pillar of your employer brand. When integrated carefully and with nuance, it can help you attract the right people, reduce hiring costs, improve offer conversion, and build long-term affinity with the talent you need.

If you’re looking to utilise PR to help your organisation stand out, get in touch with our team.

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Author: Bruce Callander

With over a decade’s experience in PR, marketing and communications, Bruce develops and executes media relations, content and social media strategies for firms in the recruitment and hiring industries, as well as suppliers to those sectors and other organisations both in the UK and internationally.